WEST HAM received a boost from Lord Coe yesterday in their bid to take over the Olympic Stadium in Stratford after the 2012 Games.

The Hammers will find out before Christmas if they have been successful but Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), said if it was up to him he would be happy to hand the club a set of keys now.

Coe, who had welcomed West Ham’s bid last month after the club’s owners agreed to drop plans to rip up the running track, admitted the Upton Park club were “not the only game in town”.

According to Coe, the Olympic Park Legacy Company is assessing a number of offers in order to form a multiple tenancy arrangement from both sports and entertainment sectors.

However, Coe said talks were expected to deliver a decision in the next “two or three months” and that he supported West Ham’s bid.

“I would welcome it,” he said yesterday. “I was never naive enough to believe that track and field [alone] could support an 80,000-seater stadium and the whole point was not to lumber east London with a stadium that nobody had a use for.

“The Olympic Park Legacy Company are currently talking to Newham Council, talking to West Ham and talking to a plethora of other organisations that have shown interest at one level or another so I know that West Ham are not the only game in town. But the owners of West Ham have expressed a real understanding that the community wants to have a footprint here and I have no problems with track and field living alongside football.”

West Ham and Newham Council confirmed their joint bid in March this year and will submit their official proposal for the right to lease the stadium on a long-term commercial basis before the deadline at the end of this month.

Should it succeed, the club’s owners will have to agree to finance some necessary modifications to the stadium.

“This would not come at no cost to West Ham,” said Coe.

“There would be things that they will need to do to reconfigure the stadium such as installing catering facilities inside the stadium.

“It has not been designed as a football stadium in order not to saddle future tenants with things they didn’t necessarily want. But the primary objective all along was to make sure we were not going to be left with a white elephant.”

New Hammers signing Victor Obinna, 23, yesterday maintained he was also looking for a similarly lasting legacy in east London beyond his season-long loan deal.

Nigeria international Obinna, who arrived from Serie A giants Inter Milan last month, could be in line to make his debut against Chelsea at Upton Park on Saturday.

Despite West Ham being rooted to the foot of the table with no points after three games, Obinna believes from what he has seen in training so far they will soon be moving up the table.

“I know about the club and the expectation here but I believe West Ham have a good team. Last season they played well at times but unfortunately didn’t always get the results,” he said.

“I believe it will take a little time but we will be back and showing what we can do. It is going to be exciting and I can’t wait to play for the fans.

“If I can play against Chelsea, it will be a massive game for me. I know what derby matches mean for the fans and I’m sure the atmosphere will be fantastic. I cannot wait.”

Manager Avram Grant, already under pressure after a dismal start to the season, has been boosted by the news that three key players are in line for a return this Saturday.

Defenders Tal Ben Haim, Winston Reid and midfielder Valon Behrami have all recovered from injuries and are in contention to face Chelsea.

Goalkeeper Robert Green, who missed England’s two European Championship qualifiers with a groin problem, will also be available. Danny Gabbidon (hamstring) and Thomas Hitzlsperger (thigh) remain on the sidelines.